Capturing the Peaks of Europe

Meet @lebackpacker

Johan Lolos is a Belgian travel adventure photographer, who’s better known as @lebackpacker. Over the last years, he has turned his passion into his profession, and now travels the world in search of the most dramatic settings and natural scenery to capture. In addition to his well-established Instagram account, his work has been published in amongst other National Geographic Traveller, GQ, Spiegel Online, Buzz Feed and the Daily Mail. He also enters regular collaborations with brands and tourism boards.

To support him on his travels, Toyota Europe has appointed Johan as its 4x4 Ambassador. As part of this collaboration, Toyota will supply him with the rugged and reliable 4x4’s needed to go in search of the perfect shot.

Capturing the Peaks of Europe

Mid-May, Johan started one of his most ambitious projects to date, a five-month road trip across Europe. The goal of the project is to capture the natural beauty and diversity of his home continent. On the first part along this five-month journey (from mid-May to late-June), Johan entered some of the most remote and dramatic areas of Northern Europe – Scotland, Northern Norway and Iceland.

The next part of Peaks of Europe has taken Johan south, for a month in Greece before heading north through the Balkans. In part three, he will spend about two months in and around the Alps.

A Hilux fit for adventure

For the first part of his journey, Johan relied on two rugged Land Cruisers (in Scotland and Iceland). During his stay in Norway, he enjoyed the company of a beefed-up Hilux Arctic Truck. For the remainder of the project, Johan will be driving a Toyota Hilux, which has been fully equipped with the necessary accessories to tackle any terrain, as well as turning the Hilux into a home for the road.